Brendan Gray came all the way around to score on a ball that he hit just a few feet, touching off the celebration. Photo by Patrick Coleman, D3sports.com | More photos from this game

By Jim Dixon
D3baseball.com

Cedar Rapids, Iowa - Misericordia and Endicott battled in the first elimination game with the Misericordia Cougars earning a 13-6 win in the fifth game of the 2023 D-III World Series being held at PG Cares Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

"It was a great team effort," said Misericordia head coach Pete Egbert. "This is what we talked about before we started, getting back to basics, the things we worked on day one. We got to their number 2, their number 3, their closer. We got to all those guys. A good grinding approach."

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It was a signature game for the Misericordia Cougars as they continued to do what they do best. The win gives the team one more day in Cedar Rapids and ties the record for most wins in a season. The Cougars will have a chance to set a new wins standard on Sunday.

"We have a few starters and I think our bull pen is fresh," said Egbert about moving forward in the tournament. "We are all right. When you get deeper in the tournament, you see those deeper guys."

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Endicott opened the game with a leadoff triple. Joseph Millar drove the ball down the left field line and motored to third. A walk to Nicolas Notarangelo got the shortstop cheating towards second and when Danny MacDougall hit a ball deep in the hole at short, the shortstop had no time to make the throw. Millar scored easily to give the Gulls an early lead.

Millar and MacDougall combined on another run in the third. Millar singled to open the third and advanced to third on a Notarangelo single. MacDougall's deep drive scored Millar with the sacrifice fly.

"We don't like playing from behind," said Egbert. "They scored in 4 or 5 innings but we answered in in all but one. We did a good job in coming back."

Misericordia took the lead in the bottom of the third with three runs. Jack Reyenye singled to short with one out. Garrett McIlhenney was hit by the pitcher, extending his on base streak this year to 44 games. Brock Bollinger's safety to left plated Reyenye. Derrick Vosburg doubled over the head of the center fielder bringing home two.

"I thought to myself I was not going to get beat," said Vosburg. "I was lucky that there were guys ahead of me on base."

"My goal is to get on base," said McIlhenney. "So any way to get on base is my job. If I can do my job, our team has a chance to win. Whether it is getting hit three times or getting three hits."

Endicott reclaimed the lead in the fourth with a two-run home run off the bat of TJ Liponis. The ball hit the top of the wall and as it bounced back into the field of play, the third base up signaled home run. John Mulready had singled to open the inning and scored ahead of Liponis.

Misericordia was up to its old tricks as they manufactured a run in the fourth to knot the score at 4-4. Connor Maryniak's infield single put him at first base. He was forced to second on a base-on-ball to Brendan Gray. A double steal, that was upheld in an umpire review, moved the runners up and Maryniak scored on a Reyenye groundout.

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Misericordia took the lead again in the fifth with three runs. Vosburg singled to right  and was moved to scoring position with a double by Braddy Madden. Joe Comins' sacrifice fly broke the tie, moving the Cougars ahead 5-4. Maryniak brought home Madden with the squeeze play. Gray came up next and bunted the ball just in front of the plate. The catcher threw the ball hard in the dirt in front of the first baseman. Gray reached and continued running. The ball rolled into the right field corner past the right fielder and by the time the ball was corralled, Gray was being waved home. The ball arrived at the plate late and Misericordia had a three run lead, 7-4.

"Third base was back a little," said Gray. "I wanted to lay one down. It was not a very good one. I kept running, putting pressure on the defense. I got to second and coach kept waving me and I went."

Endicott got one run back in the seventh but Misericordia extended the lead with two in its half of the inning. Notarangelo doubled to left center and two wild pitches brought him home. Misericordia would add two on a Bollinger single.

"It allows us to do more [when we play with a lead]," said Egbert. "It allows us to run a little more and open up what we want to do."

Endicott added a run in the eighth, but the Cougars added to their lead with four runs and headed into the ninth inning with a 13-6 lead that proved to be the final score.

Misericordia will play on Sunday against the loser of the Johns Hopkins-Baldwin Wallace game in an elimination game. Endicott is eliminated and finishes its season 45-9.

"I am really proud of out group," said Endicott head coach Bryan Haley. "There are a lot of tears, hugs when the season ends this way. We are realistic that there are six other teams feeling his way and only one gets the pure joy."

McIlhenney was hit by a pitch three times, tying the Division III World Series record, and Misericordia's team total of six set the team mark for a single game.